Traditional sweet confectionery products comprise a gelled/boiled mass having sugar as a main ingredient. Sugar contributes with sweetening and bulking effects. Sugar also has relatively high calorie content (about 4 kcal/g) and it contributes to a relatively fast elevation of blood glucose upon consumption. The two latter effects are undesirable for people who are conscious about their body weight and/or suffer from diabetic diseases and/or stick to low carbohydrate diets.
A solution to the problems connected with traditional sweet confectionery products is full or partial substitution of sugar with sugar alcohols. Sugar alcohols also have sweetening and bulking effects. Consumption of sugar alcohols do not result in a fast elevation of blood glucose and the calorie content is also significantly reduced (normally about 15-50%) compared to the calorie content in table sugar. This product is therefore some times recommended to diabetic patients and weight conscious consumers. However, in many places such as e.g. in Denmark, use of sugar alcohols is not recommended for use as a sugar replacement for diabetic patients. Sugar alcohols furthermore have an undesired laxative effect and many consumers do not think that the calorie content of sugar alcohol containing products is sufficiently reduced compared to the calorie content in sugar containing products.
Various sweet low calorie products without sugar alcohols have been suggested in the art: U.S. Pat. No. 6,423,358 and EP 1629730 relate to a low calorie table sugar substitute consisting of fibers in combination with high intense sweetener.
EP1210880 discloses the use of sucralose in food products, and in particular the ability of sucralose to mask unpleasant tastes. Other sweeteners may also be used such as e.g. polydextrose. It is disclosed how to produce hard candy using trehalose, syrup, and sucralose.
Chewing gum comprising dietary fibers and high intensive sweeteners are also known in the art. Chewing gum comprises a gum base which is essentially insoluble in aqueous solutions and thus only intended for chewing but not for oral intake.
However, within the field of gelled low calorie confectionery products it has thus far not been possible to find any appropriate bulking agents other than sugar alcohols and sugar. The explanation most likely being that no single substitute results in a confectionery product with acceptable sensory properties (texture, mouth feel, etc.) and acceptable digestive properties. In particular, this problem has been pronounced in connection with production of confectionery products on an industrial scale. There is therefore a great need in the art for low calorie gelled confectionery products with a calorie content that is significantly reduced compared to traditional sugar reduced or sugar free products. There furthermore exists a great need in the art for a low calorie gelled confectionery product with reduced undesirable laxative and/or blurting effects and/or undesired off-taste. There furthermore exists a need in the art for a product that combines these advantageous properties with an acceptable shelf life. The global market for such products would potentially be very big since the potential consumers include people who like sweet confectionery products including diabetic patients and/or people who are body weight conscious and/or overweight.
It follows that there exists a need in the art for low calorie gelled products that do not cause significant digestive discomfort upon normal consumption, wherein such products preferably can be produced by conventional methods using conventional equipment.